Bessie

Lessons learned: Water is your friend in the black tank.

~ modernbygone ~ 1 Comment

We have officially spent more weekends in the travel trailer than our home this summer.  Bessie the Jayco trailer has seen five different states and a lot of miles over the six months we have owned her.  We have made some mistakes, had some repairs, and lots of adventures during our first camping season with Bessie.  As the summer is winding down, I thought I would sit down and write out  a few lessons I learned as a new travel trailer owner.  Each day this week I’ll be posting a new lesson learned.

Water is your friend in the black tank.

While the trailer was parked for a couple weeks at our home, the eldest teen decided she wanted to use the trailer as her own space.  She moved in, and took it over.  The trailer had electric hook up, but no water.  I did warn her to use the tanks sparingly, and to make sure she poured water in every time the toilet was used.  We kept an eye on the tank gauges and when they were getting full, we hooked up and headed to our nearest campground with full hookup for a weekend of camping.

I had a late day at work that Friday with a field trip.  Hubby was meeting me at the campground.  He was going to get everything all set up before I got back from taking sixty-three sixth graders on a field trip.  Hubby pulled into the camping spot and went to hook up the sewer pipe, that is when the adventure began.

First thing that was wrong, somehow the valve pull for the black tank was already pulled out. The lid over the pipe was securely in place, but the pull was open.  I can only imagine what my hubby was thinking about that, but I can only imagine it wasn’t very friendly.  Hubby was faced with a very full black tank, with only the lid holding it all back.  He did his best to get the sewer pipe set up and hooked to the trailer as quickly as possible with as little spillage as possible.

Once the hook up was achieved, it should all be good.  The tank would empty and our weekend of camping would commence.  Right?  Right?

Unfortunately, that is not how this story ends.

Come to find out, the eldest had not been using enough water when using the black tank.  It was blocked.  Full.  And blocked.

Thankfully, our trailer has a hook up for a black tank flush.  Hubby hooked in the hose and started running water into the tank, careful to keep an eye on it inside.  No over flowing toilet, please!  After two or three minutes of running water into the tank, it let loose.  It let loose in an amazing fashion.  It took ten to fifteen minutes for the tank to empty.  However, we dealt with issues of false readings on the gauge and problems emptying the tank for the next few times we went out.

I am very thankful that I arrived at the campground as this whole story was finishing up.  We are now VERY careful to make sure enough water is used when dry camping, and we always flush the tank when a hose hook up is available at the dump station.

We went on to enjoy our weekend at the campground.  Some friends of ours were at the spot across from us.  Much music was played, good food was eaten, and the weekend was enjoyed.

Water is your friend

 

First Camping Trip 2017

~ modernbygone ~ Leave a comment

My family has been camping for many years.  Each summer, we pack our vehicle to the gills and head into the woods for some much needed relaxation.  The first trip of the season is always eventful.  We discover what equipment didn’t get packed properly for the winter.  Something always needs to be replaced.  A few things are usually missing.  I am usually pretty stressed because I am the list maker, the bag packer, and the worry wort of the family.

I spend days, if not weeks, before our first trip of the season writing out lists of things to pack, recipes to make, groceries to buy…… Then a few days before we leave I actually start packing.  I unbury the totes of camping equipment that have been stored for the winter.  I unpack them, and take stock (more lists!) of what is there.  I clean everything from being in storage for months.  I figure out what needs to be replaced or refilled.  The day before we leave, I pile all the things out in the driveway for the hubby to pack into our rig.

This year’s first camping trip was special for several reasons.

First off, we scheduled our trip for much earlier in the spring.  Normally, we have to wait until the weather allows for tent camping.  I’m not particularly fond of tent camping in the rain.  That means our trips usually are scheduled well into our pacific northwest summer.   This year we have Bessie!  With a travel trailer, I didn’t stress about the weather.  I was just excited to get out and camp!  In fact, we scheduled our first  trip so early, the campground wasn’t completely open for the season yet.  We were the only seasonal campers there.  Other than the camp hosts and one other trailer that was a long term resident, we had the entire campground to ourselves!

Second, we were missing a couple of people.  The eldest had to work, and middle spent the night with a friend.  We made up for the missing people by taking all three large dogs with us.

Third, the weather was not your perfect camping weather.  It poured.  It stormed.  It blew.  There was standing water outside Bessie.  All of us, including the three dogs, were stuck inside the trailer for the whole night.

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Fourth, we camped really close to home.  We wanted to camp close to home for our first trip with the travel trailer in case of any issues.  Because we were close to home, we decided to go visit hubby’s mother for dinner.  That means the only “meal” we had was breakfast.  By breakfast, I mean I made coffee and we ate cereal.

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The next morning it did clear just enough for us to have a short walk around the park.

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Campground: Bruceport County Park, just south of South Bend, WA.

Cost: Full Hook Up $25 per night

Review: Bruceport was a lovely little campground.  It has a nice easy trail to walk along the beach.  All the campsites are located on the cliff above the bay.  The full hook up sites are pretty close to each other in the center of the camping area.  There are several non-hook up sites with beautiful views of the bay around the outside of the camping area.  Park restrooms were clean, and there was a coin operated shower available.  The park has a lovely large field to play outside games with a group.  There is also a covered area if you wanted to have a group event.

Website: Bruceport RV Park

Follow our camping adventures over on Instagram with the hashtag #inamedherbessie

Everybody, meet Bessie!

~ modernbygone ~ Leave a comment

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This last weekend, my family picked up our very first travel trailer.  I’m so excited!!  I named her Bessie.  We have been tent camping for the last thirteen years.  I love it, but I’m so done with sleeping on the ground and hoping the campground bathroom isn’t gross.  Also, the hubby would prefer to camp in undeveloped areas, which means no bathrooms at all.  Not my favorite thing.

Our goal with the travel trailer is to have everything ready and packed.  So that on Friday, after a long week at work, we can grab some food, grab the dogs, and head to the woods for some rest and a recharge.  We are spending the week getting her all packed and set up.  Friday we will be taking her out to camp for the very first time.  The weather is still all rainy and nasty here in the northwest, but I don’t care.  Woods here we come!

 

Follow our adventures on Instagram with the hashtag #inamedherbessie